This idea was to create a piece of furniture that would ‘ground’ a vast mirror triptych by Tom Palmer Studio due to hang above, and to work in harmony with existing furnishings. We proposed Jonathan Baring for his cleaned lined, classic approach to design and his team’s exquisite craftsmanship. Together considering materials, we proposed shagreen to provide a luxurious textural quality to the doors (which notably are lined inside as well as out).

The result is a timeless piece and we look forward to seeing it in situ.

Orion Triptych Commission

Earlier this year Guilded commissioned Tom Palmer on behalf of a client in the Hamptons, USA. The location: a contemporary barn with a voluminous open plan space.

The context: the dining area, to sit in harmony with existing contemporary dining table and chairs and an antique cabinet.

The minutiae: Responding to a preference for Palmer’s themes exploring space and galaxies, Guilded looked at the contextual materials and scale and invited the client to contribute their view of what they might like to achieve.

The result: at 3 metres by 2 metres the decision was made to create a triptych – for efficient shipping and practicality in hanging, and also in the practical sense of physically moving, manipulating and creating a piece of the scale required given the techniques involved.

We were delighted that the commission was selected for feature by the Robb Report’s Home & Style Issue – September/October Iss 2015. Please click here and scroll down to view.

Credenza commission from Jonathan Baring Furniture

This credenza is the first of a series of commissions Guilded is delivering to a client in the Hamptons, USA.

The concept was to propose a piece of furniture that would ground a vast mirror triptych already commissioned for the dining area wall. The design needed to harmonise with the architecture, existing furnishings and provide some additional storage.

Our client agreed to entertain our proposal to work up a design with Jonathan Baring Furniture. Guilded recommended Baring not just for his cleaned lined, classic and reponsive approach to design but for his team’s exquisite craftsmanship and professionalism.

Guilded provided the brief and, responding to Baring’s suggestion to combine subtle fumed oak and patinated bronze, requested the application of shagreen to add a luxurious, contrasting textural quality to the piece.

Our client proceed to commisison and the result is the epitome of timeless, understated elegance: finished to an outstanding level of attention to detail.

Recent commission hung
in New York yesterday

Commissioning a work of art for your space requires vision and confidence that the outcome you have in mind will be achieved to perfection.

You will want all the options and potential open to you explained, as well as the costs and practicalities, so you can made a considered judgement. When the piece is made, in this case some 2,000 miles away, you want to know it wil be delivered to you safely but cost-effectively and hung on the wall by a professional.

With Guilded, whatever your particular aim, the entire process is facilitated and overseen on your behalf from start to completion.

This latest commission for artist Blott Kerr Wilson for a 140x140cm framed shellwork was photographed after hanging yesterday. Our client has kindly given permission for her response to be shared:

“The piece is so beautiful I’m still mesmerized by it. It is exactly what I wanted, and it turned out exactly the way I envisioned it. It really doesn’t get any better than that, does it?

As a side note, Anthony from ProHang was great. I would recommend using him for future jobs in this area. After scooping up mountains of green popcorn from the crate, he had the patience to gently vacuum the piece after hanging it.”

For further information about commissioning Blott Kerr Wilson please do get in touch. We provide visual points of reference, advise on the potential in her work and adaptability to various applications. Above all, we listen to and enable clients, delivering results that elicit a response like that shared above every time.

Candelabra Commission

A highlight of the Christmas rush on deliveries: ‘Blackthorn Candelabra’ by Tom Palmer Studio.

Commissioned by Siobhan Mooney for a client of her eponymous interior design firm in Edinburgh, this candelabra/table sculpture is fashioned from engineered and jointed antlers naturally shed by Red, Sika and Roe deer. The technique enables commissions to varying sizes, in this case to just over 1 metre in length, and for other furnishings including tables – see ‘Fell Table‘ shown on the Guilded website and now in Aspen.

The antlers are covered in a hard wearing black gesso, covered in a matt polished finish. This is set with spherical candle holders in a deeply patinated and oil rubbed brass.

This piece was featured on the cover of House & Garden magazine, Nov 2014.

Pool house – Shell Installation

2013 was a busy year and 2014 looks set to continue in the vein of a healthy balance between sales of artworks and commissions.

Artist Blott Kerr Wilson travelled to Asia to install a shell work at the commission of Guilded on behalf of our client. Following completion Charlotte Bowater travelled to oversee the unveiling from its protective cover following completion of the building works and interior furnishing. As is usually the case with an installation the artist had only experienced it in the context of a building site or partially finished interior. Charlotte was therefore delighted to see it make an impression on guests of the family during an unveiling dinner in its pool house setting and to forward images of the event to the artist.

While Guilded enables a client to move from initial enquiry to visualise an actual outcome it is ultimately their own vision that sees it realised. It is the first of its kind to be realised in Asia and the result was stunning, both in daylight and even without ideal lighting.

Installations completed in Thailand

At the beginning of January Charlotte Bowater travelled to Thailand to oversee an installation on behalf of a client. In June 2013 this client consulted her to propose a solution for an artwork to hang on the wall facing the entrance of their foyer. As is standard, it is key to establish the use of the room and by whom, the taste of the users, and establish the fabrication of walls, light sources and so on we had an additional feature to consider: this being a 5 metre high oil painting in the style of a 15th century Italian altarpiece by contemporary Thai artist Natee Utarit, due to be hung on the adjacent wall. The key was to evolve a proposal that would not compete with this painting, yet hold its own as the first work of art experienced by guests arriving at the house. While there was no direction over medium and it could have simply been beautiful, the client did express a preference for a three-dimensional piece. From this starting point we considered and evolved ideas for a proposal. One starting point was to consider reversing Natee Utarit’s look at the Westernisation of Asians in his monumental work, and find a visual language in our piece that referred to the Asianisation of Western art. We also wanted to infer the status, beliefs and embracing warmth of the family to guests arriving at the threshold in a way that could be appreciated by all comers, whether Western or Asian.

Guilded proposed working with independent artist Sophie Coryndon, who in addition to being a successful artist is particularly accomplished with specialist finishes. Initial proposals met with our client’s approval and the dialogue with Coryndon began. She chose to evolve her design to combine her expertise with that of her father Nicholas Coryndon’s cabinet making workshops in creating the underlying structure.

The two proposals finally submitted for the space were so successful that the client decided to commission both, resulting in our adapting one for the different orientation of the wall in their dining room. So it was that Sophie, her brother David Lewis – manager of Coryndon Ltd, and Charlotte Bowater of Guilded flew to Bangkok to install the finished commissions, airfreight by the outstanding Air-Sea Packing Ltd. The installation was well prepared and successfully signed off. In our client’s own words “Thank you very much for what you have been doing for us…. the Bodhi trees will always be regarded as my most precious piece.”

Now back in the UK Guilded continues to work on other proposals for the client. Looking ahead, but also with some reflection on all the projects undertaken to date, the fact that Guilded’s reach extends to clients across the globe from Asia to the US is testament to the level of personal service offered and the outstanding resource we have here, the artists and craftsmen who we work with.

Bespoke Lanterns – Dell Mitchell Architects

We have another hanging lantern heading to the States, with a commission to make two smaller companion lanterns for an adjoining area. These have been agreed in principle and are entering the final detail design phase in conjunction with our clients, Dell Mitchell Architects. Our drawings are 3D and are actually dropped into the architects drawings for the client, so they get the best feel for the result.

Today the thrilling news is that the esteemed Helen Amy Murray has offered Guilded the opportunity to represent her first ever original art work. It must have been two years ago that Helen and I met and spoke about her making the time to producing art work which would enable her creative development. It is inevitable that any artist or maker who is commissioned finds a larger proportion of clients asking for repeats of former work or evolvements. By setting aside time for creative development, Helen will increase her integrity as an artist and test techniques, materials and ideas. The results will be made entirely by her own hand and utterly collectible.